Sand Storm
by Syvyan
Summary: While fighting pirates on the Sword Coast, Catti-brie and Drizzt cross paths with a dangerous slave-trader. Now Cattie-brie must travel a thousand miles and more to save her friend before it is too late.
1. Default Chapter

The Sea Sprite made port in the southern city of Memnon. At the docks along side them was the pirate ship Bloody Dagger and in tow, the notorious Captain Nimjac. It had been a long couple of months. The last week being especially cruel with chasing the Bloody Dagger, not to mention a storm that almost took both ships to the bottom of the ocean. The whole crew was more than relieved to make port, among them Drizzt Do'Urden and Cattie-bri. "Don't think I've ever been so glad to see land," Drizzt said to Cattie-bri as he pulled his hood up to hide his black skin.  
"No doubt," she replied. " Wicked awful this place is. I'd been hopen we'd never have ta return to this god forsaken place after Regis an all."  
"I know, but look on the bright side, the sun is up, we still have the contents of our pockets and you must admit, the circumstances of our being here are much better."  
Cat smiled up at him. "I guess your right," she said and let him steer her toward a small outdoor café.  
The rest of the day they wandered aimlessly through the market place enjoying each other's company. For the past two years they had sailed the Sword Coast as part of the crew of the Sea Sprite. Rare were the opportunities to be alone. The hour was late and the pair walked back to the ship. Unbeknown to them were the small dark eyes that followed them through the masses toward the docks.  
  
"Captain Nimjac and his crew have been captured," a small voice said.  
"Doesn't surprise me, with the carelessness he shows, he deserves to be locked up. Where are they keeping him?"  
"Right here in Memnon, sir."  
"Perhaps I will pay the good captain a visit."  
  
It was only his first night in jail but Nimjac was already restless, pacing back and forth in his cell. He paused at the sound of footfalls at the end of the hall. " So you landed yourself in jail, huh?" Said a deep voice from beneath a heavy black cloak. Nimjac fell back on his cot.  
"What are you doing here?" Nimjac said in a shaky voice.  
The man in black motioned for him to come to him. "Just checking in on a friend." The voice was dripping with false concern. Nimjac paused at the mans words. "Come here." As soon as Nimjac was close enough, the he lashed out with lightning fast speed and took the pirate by the throat.  
"I give you one of the fasted ships on the sea, fill your pockets to the brim with gold and all I ask in return his that you snatch a few children from their beds and bring them to me. I don't think that sounds too hard a task, hum. But no, you land yourself in jail by the local authority." The man's grip on Nimjac's throat tightened.  
"Not the- guard," Nimjac murmured, gasping for air after every word.  
"What was that?" The grip on Nimjac's neck slackened a bit.  
"It wasn't the city guards."  
"Then who?" He said through gritted teeth.  
"Deudermont."  
"The Sea Sprite, she's here?" Nimjac nodded. "That means that that bedamned elf and his whore are here as well. Thank-you friend, but I'm afraid our business contract has been terminated as of now." Before the pirate captain could call out, a knife appeared in his hand and sliced though Nimjac's throat with ease. The man absently let the body hit the floor with a thud.  
It had been a year and a half since he encountered the drow in Waterdeep, and Doménico Camardella had been bitter ever since.  
  
Cattie-bri lay awake in her bed. They had been in port for only a couple of days now but she wished she could just wander the streets with Drizzt forever. She never tired of his company. Her eyelids became heavy and she drifted off to the world of dreams with sweet thoughts of her dear friend floating in her head.  
Halfway through the night she was rudely awoken to a shout form up on deck. Suddenly a crewmate burst through her door. "Cat, you'd better come here quick. Drizzt is gone!" 


	2. Drizzt Gone?

"What do you mean he's gone?" asked Catti-brie as she and Rollins, a younger member of the crew, hurried toward Drizzt's cabin.  
  
"I was walking past his room during my rounds and hear some noise but I thought nothing of till they sounded the alarm on deck, then--" Catti-brie cut him off as she ran to the open door to the drow's room. Inside there where defiant signs of a struggle: a chair was over turned, the bed sheets a mess, and as her eyes scanned the room they fell on a half-sheathed scimitar, Twinkle, lying on the floor. The other had fallen into a partially opened dresser drawer.  
  
Catti-brie circled the little room in a mixture of horror and confusion, running different possibilities through her head, but nothing made any sense. Joining her unexpectedly in this confusing mess was the captain.  
  
"What in the nine hells happened here?" With a helpless shrug, Cat sank down to the messy bed. The captain made his way around the room. "I don't know where to start." He said with a weak voice. He glanced toward the young woman and saw the tears well in her eyes. "I'm sorry Cat, but there's naught we can do till sunrise." He laid an empathetic hand on her shoulder. "Try to get some rest- wait, what do we have here?" The captain picked up a small medallion out of the folds of the sheets.  
  
"That belongs to one of those slave traders," Rollins said matter-of- factly.  
  
"You know who they are; we can just go break him out or buy him back or something, can't we?" Catti-brie said with a wisp of hope in her voice.  
  
"Nimjac was in league with these traders which leads me to believe Drizzt's abduction was not at random."  
  
"Revenge?"  
  
"Quite possibly. We will go see the poor wretch on the morrow and see what we can find." With that the crew present turned to go. The captain stayed Cat with an out stretched arm. "Listen to me. These traders do not sell their goods on the block. They sell exotic goods in strange and unknown lands. Just think at what a novelty a black elf would be in a land where there are none," He said in a grave voice.  
  
"Meaning?"  
  
"I believe we are in for an interesting adventure."  
  
* * * * *  
  
The nest day, Catti-brie and Captain Deudermont set out for the jail. "Do you think he will tell us anything?"  
  
"I'm not sure lass." When they arrived at the old stone building a guard showed them down toward the jail cell. Suddenly another guard appeared.  
  
"What is their business down here?" The guard inquired.  
  
"We're here to see a prisoner, a Captain Nimjac." Deudermont said.  
  
"You're too late for him."  
  
"You haven't executed him, have you?" Worry was clearly etched on the young woman's face.  
  
"In a sense. Late last night some one snuck in here a slit the poor bastard's throat. We didn' know till we came in this morning an saw him long dead." Catti-brie let out a long moan and fell against the wall.  
  
"Now what?" 


	3. Tantara

Chapter 3 -- Tantara  
  
Drizzt woke to complete darkness. He closed his eyes and opened them into the heat-spectrum, but that didn't help answer the puzzle of where he was. He closed his eyes and lay back down, honing in on his other senses to help. There was a slight rocking, maybe the hull of a ship. No, the air lacked the smell of salt, perhaps a cart of sorts. Just then whatever it was stopped.  
  
"It's been awful quiet back thur," He heard from outside. "Ye still alive?" Someone shouted while banging on the wall. Then someone opened a hatch and climbed up next to the drow. "Get up," said a man with a scarred face. The drow did not move, earning him a kick in the ribs.  
  
"Do not damage my merchandise, Scully, or you'll pay for the damages with the flesh of your hairy animal back." Came a voice that sounded vaguely familiar to the dark elf. Drizzt made his way out of the wagon, his feet landing in the sand. He looked up and came face to face with a man he had encountered once before, but Drizzt could not quite place where. From under his dark cloak Drizzt could see the mans wicked grin.  
  
Drizzt looked around him. In all directions for as far as his elven eyes could see was sand. To the east were mountains that seemed to stretch to the horizon in either direction, but directly before them lay gates of white stone blocking entrance into the valley beyond. "Welcome to Tantara, Drizzt Do'Urden," Domenico Camardella said in mock comfort.  
  
"We leave the carts here. We'll have no need for them once beyond the gate." Camardella shouted to his men. He called a young man to his side and whispered something to him, then the youth ran off toward the city. Two men came and grabbed Drizzt from behind and the rest of the group made their way into the city.  
  
The massive white gates of Tantara swung open emitting them to enter. The sun setting before them cast its last rays of light upon the many levels of the city carved right into the sides of the mountains. As the group walked, they past small shops, taverns and homes, all carved of the same white stone. Above those, on the next level were homes and shops far more extravagant then the ones below them. Off in the distance, on the left was a huge building that could only belong to the ruler of Tantara, with its mighty white columns, lavishly decorated balconies and framing various walkways were rare desert flowers.  
  
On the opposite side of the valley was a waterfall, or what appeared to be a waterfall. A second glance told otherwise. In place of water was sand. Flowing sand! Drizzt stood dumfounded by this, like a little child seeing an imaginary monster. Drizzt had seen many wonderful and beautiful things in his time, but this, this was unlike anything he had ever seen.  
  
A spear poked him in the back, rendering his mind from that simple beauty and reminding him of what foul company he was in. The group followed the river of sand for quite a ways before the young lad sent off on an errand finally returned. He whispered to Domenico then ran toward the back of the group.  
  
"You all are released for the night, at dawn I want you on the docks. Is that understood?" There was no room for questioning in the tone of his voice. "Scully, you will accompany Drizzt and myself up to my room, then you too may have your leave." The three soon came to a cliff, where the valley dropped off a hundred feet and more to the desert below.  
  
Camardella turned to the left toward a ramp cut into the side of the cliff. Along this ramp were more upscale shops and taverns. Camardella stopped before one of these taverns. "We'll be staying here tonight. Scully, you may go." Domenico opened the door and motioned for Drizzt to go in. The sight within was almost as amazing as the waterfall made of sand, as Drizzt called it in his head for lack of a better name. From the ceiling hung a magnificent chandelier made of glass, along with all the tabletops. This was not the home of the village drunk.  
  
"Good evening Master Camardella, it is good to see you once again," said the bartender from behind the counter. Camardella nodded and prodded Drizzt toward the stares.  
  
Later, in their room on the forth floor, Drizzt stood out on the balcony, barely seeing the vast amounts of sand before him. He did see his cabin aboard the Sea Sprite. His bed, his swords laid out on his dresser. Drizzt had been fast asleep when he was attacked. He didn't even have time to clear his swords from their sheaths. And what had become of his dear friend Cattie-bri or the rest of the crew. His last memory from before Tantara was a fist rapidly approaching his head, but why?  
  
(I hope i'm doing ok. I know the flowing sand might be a bit much. )  
  
*Before I add another chapter, i want at least two more reviews!* 


	4. Hot Pursuit

"What now?" Cat demanded once she and Deudermont were alone in his cabin. "We can't just be leavin' him to whatever fate brings him."  
  
"I know. I feel the same. Drizzt is a dear friend of mine. You know I would give my life to save him, but I have to think about the crew. We can only afford to stay in port one more day, and then I'm afraid we must go."  
  
"Just a few more days, I beg you." After their less than fruitful visit to the jail, the captain had sent men all over the city to check the slave blocks or to see if anyone had left Memnon with any exotic cargo. That had taken an extra week in port. The port masters were quickly losing patience with Captain Deudermont. They wanted him gone to allow merchant ships into port.  
  
"We've over stayed our welcome in Memnon as it is. The city thanks us for our services, but in their eyes as of now, we are just taking up dock space."  
  
"To the nine hells with their docks!"  
  
"Cat—there is nothing more I can do. My crew has families to feed. We can't afford to stay any longer. I'm sorry." He laid a sympathetic hand on her shoulder before walking out of the cabin.  
  
A sense of helplessness Cattie-brie had never known before threatened to overwhelm the poor girl. She slumped down to the bed. How could this have happened? Her dear friend seemed beyond reach. Sure he had disappeared before, into the lightness Underdark, but Cattie-brie knew were he was, knew how to go about finding him, for the most part. This time, she did not even know where to begin looking.  
  
She pulled the blankets up about her, even though it was barely mid-day, Cat felt incredibly tired. But the minute she became comfortable in her bed, an idea popped into her mind. She shot out of bed and raced toward the deck.  
  
"I've got it," she shouted to Captain Deudermont. He turned a questioning look upon her. "That medallion, Rollins said it was a symbol of a slaver trader."  
  
"I don't see how—" The captain started to say, but Cattie-brie cut him off, her mind racing.  
  
"Where do they reside?" She asked the young sailor, whom after hearing his name moved along side the exited woman.  
  
"Tantara, I think, but everyone knows there is no such place. The city is nothing more than a myth."  
  
"Maybe not. If a dark elf was bein' sold or merchandise on a caravan out o' the city, we'd likely hear something of it, unless. . ." He voice trailed off as she turned back toward her cabin. She was back on deck ten minutes later, clothed in her travel gear.  
  
"What are you about?" The captain asked a look of genuine concern on his face.  
  
"Going to Tantara."  
  
"You don't even know how to get there, let alone if it's even there at all."  
  
"But I will not let Drizzt be sold. I will find a way." Her look was determined.  
  
"I've heard many tales of it. I will help you." Rollins was quick to offer.  
  
Later that day, Cattie-brie and her new companion Rollins set out on the road to Calimport, in hot pursuit of their missing companion, then if the fates permit, south to Tantara.  
  
* * * * *  
  
That same day, a hundred miles and more to the south, a dark elf looked out upon the Tantarian harbor. Camardella had roused the sleeping drow early and the two set out for the docks. They went down to the bottom of the ramp, which opened up into a large outcrop packed with taverns and shops. Unlike the rest of the city, these buildings were not cut into the stone. It was obvious to Drizzt that this was the lowlier part of Tantara.  
  
To the right there was a short drop to the sandy floor and from there the desert went on southwards for as far as the eye could see. Drizzt looked back toward the valley, now four hundred feet above them. He could see the flowing sand as it cascaded down the cliff.  
  
He turned back to the front, and as the two went around the corner of a building, Drizzt came face to face with another slightly bizarre, if not completely out of the ordinary, sight. There before him were ships—large and small—just resting in the sand. "What is this place?" he whispered, completely taken aback by this strange place.  
  
"What was that?" Camardella asked. Drizzt shook his head; a bewildered look on the pour drow's face caused Doménico a small chuckle. "Nothing quite like this in the entire world," He threw his arms out wide to exaggerate the point. They walked further up the docks, passing many three mast- schooners similar to the ones in Waterdeep. The slave trader stopped before one of these ships. "This one is ours."  
  
Within the hour the drow watched the mighty city of Tantara blend into the horizon.  
  
(R&R PLEASE!!!!!!!) 


End file.
